100 years ago in The Saratogian

Monday, March 12, 1917

In a long-expected move, Governor Charles S. Whitman has named Saratoga County District Attorney Lawrence B. McKelvey as the new county judge, The Saratogian reports.

McKelvey’s nomination, which must be confirmed by the state senate, fills the vacancy created when the governor named County Judge George R. Salisbury to the state supreme court. Both moves reportedly were orchestrated by state senator George H. Whitney, the dominant Republican in Saratoga County.

The county judgeship is seen as a consolation prize for McKelvey, who reportedly wanted the supreme court seat given to Salisbury. Earlier this year The Saratogian, a Republican paper hostile to Whitney’s faction, tried to sow dissension in his ranks by hyping a rivalry between Salisbury and McKelvey.

The D.A. tells reporters this morning that “he would probably accept” the nomination, but a later report claims that he’ll only accept on the condition that “he have a hand in the selection of his successor as district attorney.”

The man most likely to succeed McKelvey, and McKelvey’s own choice for the post, is Saratoga Springs city judge Charles B. Andrus. There are at least two other possibilities for the job, including Saratoga Springs city attorney Harold H. Corbin. McKelvey is reportedly most opposed to Corbin, who until recently sided with the Republican faction opposed to Whitney. The prosecutor may be willing to abandon Andrus for a compromise candidate like Ballston Spa attorney Burton D. Esmond in order to stop Corbin.

Andrus’s status as McKelvey’s likely successor inevitably raises the question of whom the city council will appoint to succeed Andrus in city court. At least four prospects have been mentioned already, and “If it really becomes probable that Andrus will land the job of district attorney, there will probably be a dozen applicants for the office he leaves.”

SUFFRAGE DOLLAR DAY

The Saratoga Business Men’s Association and advocates of voting rights for women are joining forces to stage a Dollar Day promotion in Saratoga Springs later this month.

The Dollar Day will promote this fall’s women’s suffrage referendum, the second held in New York State in the last three years. A 1915 referendum was defeated by voters, but the suffrage movement had enough support in the state legislature last year to get back on the ballot for 1917.

The Saratogian reports that “a large number of the merchants … enthusiastically indorsed the project” after hearing from Amsterdam Recorder publisher Gardner Kline, who sponsors two Dollar Days a year in his town. “At the conclusion of each sale the greatest satisfaction with the results has been expressed by the merchants and the buying public,” Kline says.